The world as we know it is rapidly being reshaped by energy security – that is the message that resonated throughout the Blue Zone pavilions at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP30, in Brazil (November 2025).  

As private sector leadership navigates increasingly complex geopolitical dynamics—such as trade tensions, resource availability, and climate diplomacy—there is an opportunity to leverage current sustainability efforts for both near- and long-term business resilience. 

Energy security, decarbonisation and business resilience   

Risks and resilience associated with energy security and global decarbonisation efforts are firmly on the register of CEO engagement in sustainability. Since 2007, the UN Global Compact–Accenture CEO Study (the CEO Study) has tracked the evolution of sustainability from a reputational concern to a central pillar of corporate strategy. The 2025 edition, Turning the Key: Unlocking the Next Era of Sustainability Leadership, drew on a quantitative survey of nearly 2,000 CEOs across 128 countries, which included in-depth qualitative interviews with chief executives. This recent study—which noted that decarbonisation efforts were a “critical priority” for executives—also suggested that business sustainability efforts which were underpinned by resilient governance structures, clear strategic priorities and mature operational capabilities were better positioned to translate sustainability ambition into business resilience. 

As Time Magazine remarked in their article Global Energy Crisis Fears Are Pushing CEOs To See Climate Action in a New Light, organisations like Fortescue Metals Group (a UN Global Compact participant) provide an industry example for how executives can leverage decarbonisation efforts to mitigate energy risk while strengthening competitive advantage: ”[I]t’s clear [Andrew] Forrest’s investments have allowed him to do something that a growing number of executives are only now contemplating: use decarbonization not only to cut emissions but also to reduce exposure to violent swings in fuel prices.” 

The findings of the CEO Study also presented a defining challenge for Australian boardrooms: the widening gap between sustainability ambition and organisational preparedness. Eighty-eight per cent of CEO respondents believe the business case for sustainability is stronger than it was in 2020, and 99 per cent intend to maintain or expand their sustainability commitments. However, fewer than 14 per cent feel well-prepared for the challenges those commitments entail, including inflation, trade regulation and climate change. For Australian organisations, this preparation gap intersects with a structural point: the introduction of climate reporting obligations under the Corporations Act. 

The preparedness paradox: ambition without infrastructure 

The CEO Study characterises the current moment as an “era of pragmatism”, one in which sustainability has moved from aspirational positioning to a measurable business imperative. Yet, organisational capability has not kept pace with regulatory and market expectations. Only 26 per cent of surveyed CEOs have dedicated scenario planning teams, and the study identifies systemic barriers, including inconsistent data infrastructure, long-term payback periods and regulatory complexity, as key constraints on progress. 

For Australian organisations, these structural gaps are directly relevant to climate reporting compliance with Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS). Since January 2025, large Australian businesses have been required to disclose climate risks, opportunities and Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions. With Scope 3 requirements phasing in from 2026, organisations without robust data governance and value chain visibility face the prospect of material compliance gaps.  

From disclosure to governance: embedding sustainability in leadership structures 

One of the most significant findings of the 2025 CEO Study relates to how accountability for sustainability is being restructured at the executive level. Fifty-nine per cent of CEOs now incorporate sustainability criteria into leadership evaluation frameworks, and 34 per cent have linked executive remuneration directly to sustainability performance—a figure that has risen steadily from 66 per cent of top CEOs expressing support for this linkage in 2019, to broader implementation across organisations by 2025. The study frames this as a shift from reactive compliance to proactive governance, observing that companies embedding sustainability into leadership remuneration signal to investors, regulators and employees a credible commitment to aligning long‑term value creation with environmental and social responsibility. 

At the same time, the study notes that stakeholder influence is shifting. Consumers have overtaken governments, investors and employees as the primary driver of CEO sustainability agendas, with 60 per cent of respondents ranking customer demand among their top three sustainability drivers. Boards, interestingly, are globally identified as less central to sustainability efforts. However, in the Australian context, the Corporations Act places explicit expectations on board-level climate governance, risk oversight and disclosure accountability, which places board directors front and centre of sustainability conversations.  

Where to start: governance priorities for Australian CEOs 

The CEO Study identifies a clear set of structural priorities for organisations seeking to move from sustainability intention to measurable impact.  

• Unambiguous executive ownership of climate governance. Whether through a dedicated Chief Sustainability Officer or an equivalent role, there is a need for a direct reporting line to the board, which covers ASRS compliance, climate risk oversight and Scope 3 emissions governance. The study notes that without this, accountability for disclosure tends to fragment across functions, leaving material gaps at reporting time. 

• Building Scope 3 data infrastructure across the value chain. Seventy-five per cent of surveyed CEOs report they are actively constructing responsible supply chains, and 97 per cent expect progress in industry and value-chain collaboration to be essential to meeting sustainability obligations. For Australian organisations, this means auditing top-tier suppliers for emissions data, establishing contractual data-sharing arrangements and implementing measurement systems aligned to the GHG Protocol—ahead of the 2026 phase-in, rather than in response. 

• Conducting a structured gap assessment against the full ASRS framework. The study’s findings on scenario planning are instructive here: while approaches range from fully integrated planning (26 per cent of respondents) to early-stage capability development (28 per cent), the organisations best positioned to manage climate uncertainty are those that have embedded scenario analysis into their core strategic planning processes, rather than treating it as a standalone compliance exercise.  

Conclusion 

As CEOs look at energy risks alongside the global climate negotiations at COP31, they’ll be well served to leverage the existing core sustainability efforts within their organisation for climate action and business resilience. The ability to identify governance gaps, embed scenario planning into core business processes, and strengthen sustainability practices across the value chain allows climate reporting to serve as a strategic tool—mitigating risk and building long‑term organisational resilience. 

*Authors: Blessy Saji, Environment and Climate Change Intern;  Dr. Evan Center, Head of Environment and Climate Change. 

UNiting Business LIVE Australia 2026 

Join us at “UNiting Business LIVE Australia: Sustainability in Action”, the defining sustainability event of the year, at Jones Bay Wharf, Sydney, from 13–14 May 2026.  

Boards and executives are no longer just managing business risk. They are navigating climate diplomacy, resource security and geopolitical uncertainty while being held to account by regulators, investors and communities alike. Witness honest conversations on what it takes to embed ESG into strategy and turn governance turbulence into organisational resilience at the Executive Panel: Driving Sustainability Through NEDs, CEOs & CSOs — 13 May, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm AEST. The board, the CEO and the C-suite are ready to have the hard conversation on the climate trade-offs, the governance tensions and what real sustainability leadership looks like from the inside. Speakers include: 

• Darrell Wade, Co-founder & Chair, Intrepid Travel; Chair, Philanthropy Australia 

• Mirja Viinanen, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Australia 

• Trish Pegorer, Managing Director, Mutti Australia 

• Pavan Sukhdev, Founder & CEO, GIST Impact 

• Moderator: Kate Dundas, Executive Director, UNGCNA 

The future of Australian business sustainability will be shaped by the leaders who show up, speak up and act. We hope to see you there. 

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